Sunday, July 1, 2007

My favorite article in today’s El Pais was about the newly elected city councilor in Reus (a town of 100,000 people near Barcelona) who not only dressed like Elvis for his swearing in but credited the King with posthumously guiding him to the post!

Ariel Santamaria claimed that 7 years ago Elvis appeared to him and told him to stand for office. He wasn’t succesful in his 2003 bid, but he said Elvis appeared again and told him to run for city hall — and the rest is history, or perhaps, legend…

I mean, really, next to this the main political story pales: following the recent local elections the PSOE (socialist party) has superceded the PP (conservative party) in municipal power due to its having captured the leadership in 10 provincial capitals.

Will Elvis appear to other politicians in Spain or around the globe?

P.S. Apparently this guy’s platform included promises to create a nudist pool, paint the town hall pink, plant marijuana in parks and require the local Police to carry a GPS device so that they can be easily found in case someone needs a light for a joint. He has also pledeged to to attend council meetings dressed as Elvis Presley.